Tuesday, October 10. 1704.

Numb. 63.
[265]

I Am not justifying here the Honour of such Princes Proceedings, who fall upon their Neighbours, and begin Wars and Hostilities, without pretence of Quarrel, and without Declaring first their Resolution.

But for the Edification of those Gentlemen; who are willing the Swedes should ruin the King of Poland, because he Assaulted them without a just Ground; I would recommend to their consideration, how the Hungarians joyn’d with the Turks, in a War against the Emperor, under the obligation of a Solemn Peace, unbroken, and which had three Years yet to come, and without any ground of Complaint on the Turks behalf.

Nay, so openly, and against all Justice and Honour did the Turks break this Peace, that when afterwards the Losses and Destruction of the War, brought them to think their Priests at Constantinople exclaim’d against the injustice of it, and the Rabble Sacrificed those who had been the occasion of it; Declaring their great Prophet Mahomet was Angry at their beginning so Dishonourable a War; and Teckely himself was in no small danger among them upon this Account.

Yet I never read that our Hungarians, and who, some would have all call’d Protestants, made the least scruple of the Turks denying the Emperor this Ceremony, but treated his Imperial Majesty in all Cases, as if he was a Person with whom no Measures were to be observed, breaking all their Truces and Cessations, seizing their Magazines, intercepting his Convoys, even when under Treaties and Capitulations. Continue reading Tuesday, October 10. 1704.

Saturday, August 19. 1704.

Numb. 48.
[205]

TWO Reviews more would have dismiss’d the Article of Sweden, but I am oblig’d to Halt in the middle of the Story, upon the occasion of the great Turn of Affairs in Europe, from the late Victory at Hochstetten.

The Objectors to our Arguments seem to Reply with some Advantage, that French Power appears to be less Formidable, than at the beginning of these Papers I represented it, and that all the Terrible things which I foretold of it, are dash’t at one blow; that we need not concern our selves in the Quarrel between the Swede and the Pole, for the Business is done, the Confederacy stands upon its own Legs again, the Swede can now do us no harm, the Ruin of the Pole cannot affect it, and so I ought to have done with it.

The Victory of the Duke of Marlborough, I allow to be a very great Action, the Greatest, most Glorious, and most compleat Victory that I can find in History for above 200 Years past; and as no Man in Europe more heartily rejoyces at it, than the Author of these Papers, so perhaps I am ready to own it Greater in its Consequences than every body imagines.

The Defeat of the Army, barely as such, tho’ it be allow’d to be the Flower of the French Troops, and to be a great thing, is not all; there is the Duke of Bavaria left to the Emperors Mercy; that Fatal Breach, made in the Heart of the Empire, in a fair way to be heal’d to all the Advantage imaginable — There is the Duke of Savoy, who was upon the point of being ruin’d, in a fair way to be deliver’d, and perhaps so Succour’d, as to be likely to dislodge the French out of Italy. Continue reading Saturday, August 19. 1704.

Tuesday, August 15. 1704.

Numb. 47.
[201]

I Have done with the Swedes fighting for the Liberty of Poland — .

The next thing, which as ’tis alledg’d the Swedes fight for, is Religion, to pull down Popery and the Whore of Babylon.

Some Honest People, who are very Angry with the King of Poland for changing his Religion, and very willing to have the Swedes be Masters of Poland, because they hope they will plant the Protestant Religion there, are very much out of Humour with our late Reviews, which have dwelt so long upon the Matter, and so earnestly press’d the reducing the Swede to Terms of Peace.

These well-meaning Religious Gentlemen, shew their Zeal goes a great deal beyond their Understanding, as to the Publick Affairs of Europe; and of such I would ask, whether it is worse, that the Protestant Religion should not be replanted in Poland, or should be supplanted in England, Holland, and Germany? Continue reading Tuesday, August 15. 1704.

Tuesday, August 8. 1704.

Numb. 45.
[193]

IN Relating the Practice of all Wise Princes defending their own Territories, before they invaded their Neighbours; I come to the late King William, when Prince of Orange, Besieging Bonn.

It follows to examine, What Course the French King took in this Case: Did he, like the Swedes in Poland, push on his Conquests in the Netherlands, and leave the Dutch and German Army to Enter Lorrain, and Consequently France, and Ravage them at Pleasure? No: but finding he had taken so many strong Towns, as Employ’d him 100000 Men to Garrison, and that the Confederates, by taking Bonn had cut off the Communication between his Troops on the Upper Rhine, and those in Holland, and opened a way for their own to joyn; and that France lay Naked on that side; like a Wise Prince he chose the least Evil, he abandon’d at once, all his low Country Conquests to draw his Forces together, in Defence of his own Dominions; and this he did with such hast, that he quitted 42 Strong Places, in 16 or 20 days time.

I have not room to give an Encomium here to the Policy of the Prince of Orange, who could so sensibly touch the French in so nice an Article, as to regain from them so many Invincible Places, without the loss of a Man: Other Authors have made Great and Just Remarks on this, Sir William Temple in particular.

But I cannot refrain doing Justice to the K. of France, who, in this, show’d himself a true Father of his own Country, in that he chose to abandon all his Glory, quit the hopes he had entertain’d of so delicious a Conquest, as the Netherlands, two thirds of which he had in Possession; and all this to retrieve a Mistake, prevent the insulting of his own Country, and the Ruin of but one Province of his Inheritance. Continue reading Tuesday, August 8. 1704.

Tuesday, June 20. 1704.

Numb. 31.
[137] Page numbers [137] – [140] are incorrectly numbered in all extant copies. The printed pages read [135] – [138]. There are no pages numbered [139] or [140]. Numb. 32 begins with page [141].

OUr last made some Digression on the Success of the French Affairs in the Seas of America; it might be expected I should make some Apology for what of that Paper relates to our own Affairs; but they that look for it here, will be mistaken, since I cannot be sensible of any Impropriety of Story; for as I am upon describing the French Greatness, and their extraordinary Conduct, in every part of their Government; I cannot think any Man could expect such a History could be Written, without some part of it, being a Satyr upon our selves.

I have promis’d the World, after I have gone thro’ this Tedious and Terrible Article of the French Power, to enter upon an enquiry, how it came to be so great; and tho’ in the Performance I shall be as Tender of our own Character in England as I can; yet I cannot believe any Rational Man can expect I can perform that Promise, without touching upon the Follies and Mistakes of the rest of Europe; of which the French Wisdom and Policy having taken the Advantage, they have been so made the Principal Instruments of advancing the Enemies Power, upon the Ruins of their own – And, for this is what I mean, how I shall be able to do this, and pass by a¬ll our English Errors, I yet know not; or how I shall do to please those People, who think we have made no Mistakes, or those that think we have, I ought not to meddle with them, I am further at a loss.

All the remedy for this Matter, is Truth of Fact, which I shall first keep close to, and then endeavour to pursue as decently, and with as much Respect to Parties, as an Historian’s Duty will permit, and for the rest, I shall borrow a Publick Inscription to stand by,

Lector fastidiosus sibi Molestus.

Continue reading Tuesday, June 20. 1704.

Saturday, June 17. 1704.

Numb. 30.
[133]

THe conclusion of the last, referr’d us to examine what a Condition our Colonies and Plantations would have been in, according to common Conjecture, in Case the French had been what we pretend to be, viz. Masters of the Sea.

’Tis hard to say all that would have happened; but these few Consequences will, I presume, be granted us.

1. A General Interruption of Commerce, with all its Circumstances and Concomitants – God knows, ’tis but so so, that our Trade is maintain’d as it is; Ships are detain’d, Convoys backward, abundance run the risque without Convoy, and fall into the Enemies hands; the dearness of our Sugars, and all the several Commodities which are the Growth of our Colonies, are a Demonstration of the Interruption of our Commerce; and if the French were Masters at Sea, ’tis easier to guess how it would be with us, than ’twould be to support the Charge of it: If we lose abundance of our Ships now, we should have none come safe then; if we pay a great price for our Sugars now, we should have none then for our Money, unless we bought them of our Enemies. In short, if the French were Masters at Sea, as we should have no Trade to the Plantations, so we should have no Plantations to Trade to, in a few Years; for they would not be such ill Husbands of the Advantage as we are.

2. The Interruption of Commerce in our West Indies, would infallibly starve our Plantations. The Terra Firma would be ruin’d for want of Trade, and the Islands for want of Food; one would be starv’d for want of a Market for their Corn, and the other for want of Corn for their Market. Continue reading Saturday, June 17. 1704.